Danny will miss Paris date

13 April 2012

Danny Grewcock, one of a battery of probable English Lions in Australia this summer, is out of England's Six Nations duel against France at Twickenham next month.

The Saracens lock must rest for six weeks following surgery yesterday on a broken jaw, a blow which ends his seven-match winning England run.

His replacement will be either Simon Shaw, of Wasps, or uncapped Bath lock Steve Borthwick.

Grewcock's unlucky break denies him one last opportunity to present his Lions credentials before the selectors meet to name their 37 for the three-Test series, but he has already done enough, almost certainly edging ahead of Scott Murray to lock the scrum with captain-elect, Martin Johnson.

The more uncertain issue is over Grewcock's future after the Lions tour. Saracens, anxious to re-sign him for three more years, are competing against four other Premiership clubs. Bath, Wasps, Harlequins and Sale, are all offering alternative employment.

England flanker Richard Hill, another out-of-contract Saracens international, is also being offered a three-year deal.

Chief executive Francois Pienaar said: 'Richard and Danny are very important to our future. We're trying hard to keep them but with other teams interested, it's not easy.'

France were licking their wounds after Sunday's blistering condemnation by rugby president Bernard Lapasset following the loss to Wales. His public ridiculing of their players did nothing for coach Bernard Laporte's Monday morning feeling.

The besieged French coach's next four matches are all away, against England, South Africa, twice, and New Zealand. Laporte said: 'Playing England will be like starting our summer tour of the Southern Hemisphere a match earlier. I've no doubt they're worthy of that status.

'The disappointment is we go to Twickenham with nothing to play for which is not what I was expecting at the start of the season.'

Wales coach Graham Henry's problems were nothing in comparison, but that did not stop him condemning the scheduling of Welsh-Scottish League matches for the next two weekends as 'madness' as Wales prepare for their April 8 Rome trip.

Henry said: 'Instead of having the next two Saturdays off the players will be taking lumps out of each other. Cardiff and Swansea, who contribute to many to the national squad, meet in the cup on Saturday and the league seven days later.'

The foot- and- mouth epidemic is now within 10 days of forcing a second postponement of Wales' home match against Ireland, scheduled for April 29. The Irish govern-ment's rule that no match against a UK-based team will be sanctioned until 30 days have elapsed after the last out-break, points to renewed disruption of the Six Nations.

They are to review their various contingency plans at a meeting today when the RFU will repeat their call for the outstanding matches to be played on a neutral venue in mainland Europe.

Fixture confusion extends to Munster's European Cup semi-final against Stade Francais, in Lille on April 22, raising the possibility of a delayed final clashing with the Lions' tour assembly on May 26.

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